Saturday, September 5, 2009

MIT has been at this robotic fish lark for a long, long time, and its latest iteration is a true testament to all the effort and energy put in. The first prototype, 1994's Robotuna, was four feet long and had 2,843 parts driven by six motors, whereas the new robofish is no longer than a foot, carries one motor and has exactly ten components, including the flexible polymer body. The hardy and relatively inexpensive drones can be used as substitutes for AUVs in tight spaces, inhospitable environments and the like, but their earliest adopters are likely to be supervillains in need of surveillance bots for their moats. Video after the break.